The revised Australian curriculum presents a new emphasis in primary schools on the process of Mathematical Modelling. A modelling focus brings close attention to confidence and capability with a potentially new problem-solving process, associated language, and pedagogical processes. This paper presents a Year 4 classroom modelling experience that…

The gender-sensitive analysis of influencing factors on mathematical performance of primary school pupils can yield valuable insights into facilitating this vital phase of pupils' educational trajectory. We view gender-sensitive mathematical performance in primary school based on works of Niklas (Psychologie in Erziehung und Unterricht, 62, 106,…

This qualitative multi-site case study explores the self-identified traits of four Philadelphia schools that demonstrate growth in grade four proficiency on the Math Pennsylvania System of State Assessment (PSSA). Obtained proficiency/advanced scores on the PSSA show a drop from third to fourth grade cohorts during 2017, 2018, and 2019. In…

Recent studies have shown that mathematical vocabulary is an important predictor for mathematical performance in kindergartners, primary school students, and secondary school students (e.g., King & Purpura, 2021; Peng & Lin, 2019; Ünal et al., 2021). However, a recent meta-analysis showed that mathematical vocabulary might be more…

The study set out to explore different mathematical difficulties among 877 second-grade children and to test the effect of memorization versus conceptual practices with number combinations. It used a latent profile analysis of baseline measurements of digit writing speed, number combination fluency, multidigit calculation, and number sense skills…

Ambiguity of language can form a barrier to understanding mathematical concepts. The word 'capacity' is problematic as it holds a variety of meanings and might not be understood in school mathematics, to be an aspect of volume. We investigated pre-service primary school teachers' interpretations of 'capacity' when given the definitions of 'volume'…

Special tasks for pre-service teachers (PSTs) in university mathematics courses ("interface tasks") are a common innovation in recent years to overcome the second discontinuity. By this, we mean tasks that are situated by typical everyday challenges of mathematics teaching and in which PSTs must use their mathematical knowledge and…

Studies have found that some teacher professional development programs that are based on Cognitively Guided Instruction (CGI) can increase student mathematics achievement. The mechanism through which those effects are realized has been theorized, but more empirical study is needed. In service of this need, we designed a novel measure of…

Background: Real-world problems are important in math instruction, but they do not necessarily trigger students' task motivation. Personalizing real-world problems by (1) matching problems to students' shared living environment (context personalization) and (2) asking students to pose their own problems (active personalization) might be two…

This qualitative case study aimed to investigate and gain a greater insight into understanding distributed leadership and the experiences of individuals at an elementary school who participated in the process of obtaining Indiana STEM-school certification. The ultimate objective was to explore the leadership interactions of multiple participants…

This research study focused on the effects of departmentalization in the elementary school setting. Previous research on the topic of departmentalization in elementary school settings presented inconclusive results. The purpose of this study was to collect and analyze data from self-contained and departmentalized classrooms in fourth and fifth…

Preservice elementary teachers (PSTs) often enter their teacher preparation programs with procedural and underdeveloped understandings of area measurement and its applications. This is problematic given that area and the area model are used throughout K-Grade 12 to develop flexibility in students' mathematical understanding and to provide them…

In typical school mathematics, students experience problem solving in different ways. Sometimes students learn about problem solving by being introduced to different strategies, such as making a table or drawing a picture. Other times, problem solving is presented as a context for applying previously learned mathematics skills and concepts.…

Learning progressions can reflect students' continuous in-depth thinking development paths, and their establishment is an iterative process from the construction of hypothetical learning progressions to the verification of that hypotheses. Considering the limitations of the existing verification method of learning progressions based on a rule…

Teachers and teacher educators have been sharing strategies and resources for implementing mathematics routines in National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) journals for years. A less commonly shared mathematics routine, especially with young learners, is "Clothesline Math" (Shore, 2017, 2018). In this routine, teachers create…